Gillian Calder

Gillian Calder is a Professor at the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law and currently Acting Chair of Gender Studies (2023-2024). She joined the faculty in 2004 after practicing Aboriginal law and teaching at the University of New Brunswick. Her academic roles include serving as Associate Dean, Academic and Student Relations (2015–2020) and Chair of the UVic Academic Women’s Caucus (2019–2022).

Education: B.A. (History, UBC, 1993), LL.B. (UBC, 1997), Diploma in University Teaching (UNB, 2002), LLM (Osgoode Hall, 2003). Her LLM thesis addressed gender, social reproduction, and Canada’s welfare state.

Research focuses on legal pedagogy (critical, arts-based, and experiential learning), feminist legal theory, Indigenous legal frameworks, and the intersection of law with performance and emotion. She prioritizes anti-oppressive and decolonial approaches, particularly engaging Indigenous ways of knowing.

Notable contributions include co-editing Polygamy’s Rights and Wrongs (UBC Press, 2014) and pioneering Theatre of the Oppressed techniques in legal education. Her work emphasizes empathy, creativity, and imagination in teaching.

Awards include multiple Terry Wuester Teaching Excellence Awards (2008–2015), SSHRC grants, and grants supporting projects like #ReconciliationSyllabus. She has held visiting fellowships at institutions including the University of Edinburgh and Emory University.

Administratively, she contributed to curricular reforms, Indigenous legal initiatives (e.g., Bachelor of Indigenous Laws), and equity initiatives such as the UVic Equity Committee. She also advises organizations like West Coast LEAF and the National Abortion Federation.